Swenson, A., Sermon, P., Gould, C., 2010.

Urban Picnic - Picnic in Arcadia (2010)

An interactive telematic video installation for the Liverpool Biennial 2010.
The Shang-pool project, conceived and co-ordinated by Peter Appleton of Liverpool John Moores University, began with a live event in which Stanley Park, Liverpool, became the setting for a virtual meeting place, enabling people from Liverpool and Shanghai to mingle, talk and play together amid the imagined landscapes of Second Life. The park was one of three virtual experiences available at the Bluecoat that day. Visitors were also treated to the Urban Picnic, an amazing, live video link which brought them face-to-face, side-by-side with staff and students from Shanghai University. Paul Sermon and Charlotte Gould from the University of Salford, the creators of this extremely popular interactive telepresence installation, were themselves present in Shanghai to oversee the successful implementation of this complex and engaging piece.